Saturn Club

This elegant, Tudor Revival-designed building is the home of the Saturn Club, which was established in 1885 and remains one of the city's leading social organizations. The building was constructed in 1922 and is the club's fourth location. Architect and club member Duane Lyman designed the building, which consists of four wings and a central courtyard. The building was built of brick laid in Flemish bond and limestone trim used for window frames, stringcourses, quoins, and copings. A two-story brick porch where the main entrance is features stone buttresses, a broad stone arch, a large oak door, and stone reliefs of the planet Saturn and a prow of a ship in the form of a dragon. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Thirteen young men founded the Saturn Club in 1885 to create a less formal place to gather and socialize than the clubs their fathers belonged to. They met on Saturdays and this is why the club is named it after the ringed planet. They modeled the club's governing structure like those found in colleges, naming a dean, vice dean, registrar, and bursar. Club members were referred to as faculty and everyone was expected to wear academic attire. The annual meeting was called Saturnalia.

Over the next five years the club was located in several locations, including in rented houses. Members earned a reputation rowdy drinking and card playing to the chagrin of neighbors. Finally, the club constructed its first formal clubhouse in 1890. By then, it had 200 members (only men were allowed to join; women could become members beginning in 1985 but they had been allowed to use the facilities in the years before the change). The new building, which attracted even more members, including many of the leading figures in Buffalo at the time, helped temper the club's questionable reputation. It had a main lounge, bar, billiard room, smoking lounge, and staff quarters. The club offered a variety of activities as well including baseball games, vaudeville shows, lectures and costume balls. Women were allowed to participate in some of these social events as well. In 1900, Theodore Roosevelt, who was governor at the time, had dinner at the club during a visit to Buffalo.

The club remained at that building until the present one was erected in 1922. It was remodeled in 1936 and then in 1986. An athletic facility was built in 2002. The grounds also include two tennis courts. The club is now a family oriented organization.

Licata, Elizabeth. "The Ever-Evolving Saturn Club." Buffalo Spree. Nov./Dec. 2001. https://www.buffalospree.com/app/buffalospreemagazine/archives/2001_1112/111201saturnclub.html.

Ross, Claire L. "Saturn Club." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. May 19, 2005. https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000444.pdf.

"Welcome to Saturn Club, Buffalo's Social Club." Saturn Club. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.saturnclub.org/getmedia/6b9ac1cf-a19e-450c-9797-2b5bd2054426/Saturn_Club_Information_Pack.aspx.